Digital Ethereal: WiFi Art Project

Wireless networks have been around for quite some time now and they made internet connectivity a lot easier. Now we can connect to the web just from our mobile phone without any issue, and surf at very high speeds or even download apps if we want.

But sometimes we stay and wonder, is there an impact that the WiFi signals have on our lives? Does it bring a serious amount of damage or this is just an unharmful, yet very helpful piece of engineering that has changed our life tremendously, yet in a better way.

Digital Ethereal is a project that was specifically created to address a problem that has been around for ages now. With this project we are now able to see an artistic approach on how the wireless networks really look like. Not only that, but we are even able to explore these wonderful designs.

The Hertzian space is a landscape of electromagnetic signals which, even if they cannot be seen by the human eye, it exists and by interacting with it the humans were able to transmit electromagnetic signals from afar, and wireless is certainly a testament of that. The fact that we don’t have any way to interact with the Hertzian space didn’t stop a great group of inventors to go ahead and find out a way to capture the way it looks like, complete with its social and cultural complexity.

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The Digital Ethereal project is certainly a great initiative that required a lot of work and passion, but the results are astonishing. By using multiple disciplines such as programming, design, photography, electronics and performance, the inventors behind this project were able to create multiple videos and images showcasing the power of the Hertzian space, showing us how the WiFi signals are looking.

This particular project relies on the use of Google Glass, but even an Android enabled mobile phone might be able to do the trick as well. The results from this project are astonishing, as it’s pretty amazing to actually see how these signals are spread in the world. With the help of some measuring rods, lots of programming knowledge and the ability to go beyond the limits of our human perception, the Digital Ethereal project successfully manages to capture a world that otherwise we weren’t able to see and check out. Each random piece of signal can be caught into the mix and then transformed into a wonderful, detail piece of art thanks to the miracle known as digital photography.

In summary, the Digital Ethereal has really changed our perception in regards to the Hertzian space. What was known as being a random piece of signal (the WiFi connection) has actually turned out to be better organized. It’s safe to say that the wonders of technology never cease to amaze us and Digital Ethereal is a prime example of that.